Middle Tennessee falls to No. 15 MSU 45-3

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP)

But when the Bulldogs finally broke a big play, the Blue Raiders
couldn't find a way to stop them.

Mississippi State beat Middle Tennessee 45-3, turning a
seven-point halftime advantage into a blowout by scoring five
second-half touchdowns, including three in the third quarter.

''I loved the effort,'' MTSU coach Rick Stockstill said. ''I
told the guys afterwards that I thought they competed their tails
off to the very end. We were just outmanned at times.''

The turning point was a 64-yard touchdown run by Mississippi
State's LaDarius Perkins in the third quarter. It pushed the
Bulldogs' lead to 17-3 and was the beginning of the end for the
Blue Raiders.

''It opened things up for us,'' Perkins said. ''I made a couple
good cuts and took it to the house.''

Mississippi State led just 10-3 at halftime and was struggling
to move the ball in the third quarter before Perkins' breakthrough
run. It was the first of three Bulldogs touchdowns in the decisive
third quarter.

Perkins finished with 125 yards rushing on 20 carries. He's one
of two running backs in the Football Bowl Subdivision to have a
rushing touchdown in every game this season.

And he was one of many Bulldogs who had a big night.

Tyler Russell completed 17 of 21 passes for 191 yards and three
touchdowns while Johnthan Banks tied a school record with his 16th
career interception. Chris Smith caught a career-high seven passes
for 66 yards and two touchdowns.

Middle Tennessee (4-3) was led by Jordan Parker's 66 yards
rushing.

The Bulldogs (7-0) have won nine straight, dating to last
season. Their latest victory set up an undefeated conference
showdown at No. 1 Alabama next weekend.

''For us, it's the position we want to be in,'' fourth-year
Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said. ''When I took this job,
when we took over this program, these were exactly the kind of
games we wanted to be in.''

Middle Tennessee isn't a big-name program, but it certainly had
Mississippi State's attention after crushing ACC-member Georgia
Tech by three touchdowns on Sept. 29.

The Bulldogs were sharp on their first drive, moving 74 yards on
14 plays, capped by Russell's 4-yard touchdown pass to Smith for
the 7-0 lead. They pushed that advantage to 10-0 later in the first
quarter on a 32-yard field goal by Devon Bell.

But the offense bogged down in the second quarter and Middle
Tennessee was able to cut MSU's lead to 10-3 on a 32-yard field
goal by Carlos Lopez.

Mississippi State's struggles continued until midway through the
third quarter, when Perkins burst through the line for the 64-yard
score. It was the longest touchdown run of his career, and it
sparked the Bulldogs to what turned into an easy victory.

Banks picked off a pass from Kilgore in the third quarter and
returned it to the MTSU 25-yard line. The interception tied the
school mark set by Walt Harris. Banks has four interceptions this
season.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior injured his left knee after the
play and didn't return. There were a few nervous moments from the
crowd as trainers looked at the injury, but fans broke into
applause after he walked off the field without help.

Banks said after the game that he was ''fine.''

''It was scary, but I'll be all right,'' he said.

Mississippi State was playing so well at that point, there was
no need for Banks. Russell hit Smith on an 11-yard touchdown on the
ensuing drive and later found Robert Johnson for a 23-yard score to
stretch the lead to 31-3 by the end of the third quarter.

Russell continued his string of efficient performances. The
junior has thrown 15 touchdown passes and only one interception
this season. He had nearly as many touchdown passes (three) as
incompletions (four) on Saturday.

''We started fast, then got sloppy, then picked it up,'' Russell
said. ''We know we've got to play for four quarters against
Alabama.''

Middle Tennessee was playing its first game without injured
running back Benny Cunningham, who averaged 120 yards rushing and
had scored 11 touchdowns through five games. Without him, the Blue
Raiders couldn't reach the end zone. They were outgained
446-305.

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